


losing my head over you

by crookedspoon



Series: How to Train Your Eldritch Horror [4]
Category: Batman - All Media Types, Young Justice (Cartoon)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Cults, Eldritch, Eldritch Dick Grayson, Forests, Gallows Humor, M/M, POV Jason Todd, Zombie Jason Todd
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-17
Updated: 2019-08-17
Packaged: 2020-09-06 06:28:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,695
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20286913
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/crookedspoon/pseuds/crookedspoon
Summary: Klarion has found out Dick's true nature: he's an eldritch being trapped inside a human body. As a chaos lord, it's his duty to free it! (He's wrong.)





	losing my head over you

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Rivine](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rivine/gifts).

> Many thanks to Rhine for the quick beta!

This deep in the forest, the sparse illumination the torches provide does little to combat the darkness that is pressing in all around them. It's as if the darkness were alive and not enjoying the company.

Mist curls around his legs, seeping into his clothes and cooling down his already cold body. Unlike these cultish creeps who kidnapped him, he's not wearing one of those thick purple robes with the large hoods that look like they might keep the chill out quite nicely. Not that he'd be caught dead wearing one of those ugly things even if they were the toastiest garments ever. (Hah, dead. Get it?)

Still, he's cold, and being tied to a fucking tree doesn't make him any less so. If anything, it makes his blood congeal and that's never a nice feeling. Ugh. He hopes someone has noticed he's gone missing by now and is following his signal – hopes his tracker is even working this far out in Bumfuck, Nowhere. He wouldn't be surprised if the forest somehow interfered. 

In any case, standing around and listening to these nutsos around him chant some random Latin they scraped together from whatever Necronomicon knockoff they worship is getting tedious. He told them so several times already, but they're too engrossed in their deal to pay him any mind. Fucking rude, if you ask him.

But of course, no one is asking him and that is one of the grand injustices of the universe. He wonders if, as a zombie or whatever undead creature he's supposed to be, he can die of boredom. He thinks he must be very close to finding out.

A circle of light appears above the heads of the robed figures, and Jason feels a surge of relief. The chanting breaks off. Thank fuck, something that breaks up the dreary sameness of the night. He takes it back immediately when he sees Klarion step out of the portal.

"Rejoice," he intones in his entitled child voice, "he's coming."

A murmur goes through the crowd, both excited and terrified.

"Here, kitty, kitty, kitty," a voice comes drifting through the underbrush. "Come on, kitty. Don't run away. I'll provide a good home for you. I'm sure Jason is gonna love you as well. He always acts so tough, but he's a real softie at heart, you'll see. You're gonna love him. Here, kitty, kitty, kitty."

Jason doesn't know why he's surprised. Of course his stupid boyfriend would be chasing a cat into the woods. Instead of, you know, come looking for him.

Dick stops chasing the cat when he stumbles upon the clearing where they are all gathered. At the sight of him, the robed figures drop to their knees and prostrate themselves before him.

"Um, what's going on?" Dick asks, and Jason would like to know the same.

"Come here, Teekl," Klarion says.

_"Mrow,"_ his familiar answers and lopes toward him.

Dick clicks his tongue. "I should have known it was you."

"I know your secret," Klarion cries and points an accusing finger at Dick. Dick looks puzzled. "You're not human! You're a chaos entity trapped in a human body, and I will free you!"

Dick is so stunned he can only watch the sickle of black magic whirling at Jason.

_Oh, for fuck's sake, _is the last thing that flies through Jason's head before Jason's head goes flying. He does so hate decapitation. Hurts like a bitch and takes forever to undo. But at least he'll have a fun scar to scare the children with on Halloween. Always look on the bright side, right?

Dick bellows with rage, and it strikes the weakest among the figures with a terror so deep that they scream or faint or scratch their faces. If they had been closer to civilization, windows would have shattered at the sound; here, it should have initiated a mass migration of critters, but the forest remains silent. Another reason why it fucking creeps Jason out.

Dick throws himself at the mob of swaying people, knocking them out one by one. There is always something wrong about his movements because he bends and twists with inhuman fluidity, but now, it's like he doesn't even care about the charade anymore. His limbs stretch to hit foes out of his normal reach, people go flying before they even touch him, smacked away by his shadowy tentacles, and his human form dissolves more and more, the way it always does when he loses his shit.

It's kinda sweet, but he really shouldn't let himself go like that. He knows Jason wasn't killed that easily the first time around, and it's become increasingly difficult – if not impossible – to kill him now. It just hurts and Jason would like to avoid it, but it's nothing Dick has to go on a rampage about.

Still, he's touched.

Meanwhile, Klarion is clapping his hands, eyes wild and ecstatic. "Yes, yes! Give in to your chaos! Let it out!"

Dick rounds on him and his tentacles flick away the last cult members still standing. He looks taller than usual, longer. His eyes are pitch black, and they are many. His teeth gleam sharply in the torch light.

Jason can _feel _the insatiable hunger rolling off of him, and from the looks of it, Klarion can, too.

"Stay back," he says, voice wavering. "Don't come near me. I _freed _you, you have to do as I say!"

He sends a stream of chaos magic toward Dick to stop him, but it has no effect on Dick. He just keeps advancing.

_"Mrow,"_ Teekl suggests, to which Klarion replies, "I'm trying!"

A glowing portal opens to his side, and Klarion looks visibly relieved when it does. The stream of chaos magic dies down.

"You should be thanking me! Remember that."

With that, the portal winks out behind him.

Well, that was all very fun and enlightening, but Jason would very much like to go home now, maybe have a hot bath. He's earned it. An ant just crawled up his nostril. That alone should give him bitching privileges for the rest of the night, and he very much intends to use them.

"A little help here?" he calls.

Dick starts, and just like that, he's back to normal again. Or mostly normal. His eyes are still black and his teeth sharp points when he bends to pick Jason's head up off the forest floor. 

"You scared me there, Jason," Dick says, worried and glad at the same time. Jason gets a little vertigo as Dick cleans the dirt and the dead leaves off his neck stump.

"_I _scared _you? _That's a new one."

"Don't joke. I lost you once already and I never know if this time will be final. What if Klarion's magic is what does it – what kills you for real?"

Dick kneels in front of Jason's body and places his head back where it belongs. His hands are warm against his neck, holding it in place so it can do its thing and heal, and Jason doesn't know if it's the contrast to his own icy skin or a conscious choice on Dick's part. His lips are warm, too, when they kiss, and his tears are positively searing.

Jason touches Dick's elbows. For now, that's as high as he can lift his arms. 

"Stop underestimating me, okay?" he says when they part. "Whatever happens, I'll crawl out of my grave a second time for you."

Dick huffs a sniffly laugh. "That's sweet of you, but I'd rather it never comes to that in the first place."

"I know," Jason says. "Come on, help me up, so we can get out of here. I'm freezing my balls off."

"You sure? Your neck wound still looks... very fresh."

"Don't jostle me around and we'll be peachy."

They give the clearing a once-over to see if any robed figure needed another knocking out, but it's empty. The space where they had previously been lying unconscious is as undisturbed as if no one has set foot there in quite some time.

"Huh," Dick says and scratches his head. "Did you see Klarion take them?"

"Um, no. At this point, I wouldn't be surprised if the forest ate them. It's been giving me the creeps since we got here."

"Then we'd better leave. Because they weren't an illusion, unless I'm really starting to lose it."

Dick hooks one of Jason's arms over his shoulders and heaves him up. Jason's limbs are heavy and cumbersome, but he still has some measure of control over them. This is worse than being piss drunk, though.

"So," he says, just to take their minds off of the long trudge back to wherever Dick landed, "you wanted to get us a cat, huh?"

Dick laughs sheepishly and Jason really likes the sound. "Humans give each other gifts, right? To apologize? And humans like cats. So I thought..."

"Dick. You have nothing to apologize for."

"But you've been so distant lately. I thought you were still mad about the other day when we— when I—"

"Oh, don't remind me. I'm trying very hard to put it out of my mind"

"I'm sorry."

Jason sighs. "Let's talk about it later, okay? I just wanna get out of here." He'll breathe easier once that creepy forest is behind them. "Just know... just know that I'm not mad at you or anything."

"Okay," Dick says quietly.

"Let's talk about adopting cats again."

Dick perks up. "You would?"

"You'll have to convince me first."

"Good enough for me!" Dick throws his arms around Jason and together, they crash against the nearest tree. The impact sends a jolt of pain through his neck, but at least his head stays on.

"What did I tell you about jostling?" he asks, but already the question is lost against Dick's soft lips.

Dick is very enthusiastic about kissing, regardless of the circumstances or the surroundings. So what if Jason thinks a branch just caressed his cheek? His boyfriend regularly drives him insane – literally – and he gets off on it. He can handle a stupid forest that may or may not eat them for five more minutes.


End file.
